Silt is a strange thing — written up as a surrealist adventure horror, where you’re tasked as a mysterious diver sent to uncover equally mysterious things in the depths of the ocean. It’s more or less a really bizarre version of Ecco The Dolphin. Which in and of itself, was already quite a strange game. It’s very beguiling, with an incredibly thick atmosphere, a fantastic visual imagination and some genuinely clever puzzle design. It’s also quite brief, with my playthrough over in a handful of hours. Is it a good afternoon slice of surrealism, though?
By and large, I would say yes. Playing Silt is basically experiencing a series of paintings coming to life; through the various environments under the ocean, the game is consistently beautiful to behold, with each locale being extremely tantalising to explore. You do this through very simple mechanics — basic underwater movement, a little speedboost, and the front page feature, the possession mechanic. Through these locations you can possess a decent variety of aquatic creatures, all with different behaviours and uses, that you then use to solve puzzles.
Generally, these puzzles are right on the balance of simple enough to not be hairpulling, but use the mechanics in a very well wrought way to make you feel like a bit of a genius. The way the mechanics are layered together is very reminiscent of Nintendo’s core design philosophy; you have the introduction, where you can experiment with the mechanic in a safe environment. The mechanic is then developed — for example, you have the piranha. The piranha can cut through rope, done in a safe environment. This is then extrapolated further in small navigation puzzles, then it is given a twist. You use the piranha in a stressful scenario, and finally the mechanic is concluded. This philosophy is woven throughout every single encounter in the game, with each little creature given full development. It’s genuinely very smart, but unfortunately the execution isn’t quite always there.
Toward the end of the game, there are a handful of areas where I found the puzzles to be on the wrong side of balanced. One in particular, I’m pretty certain I brute forced the game into letting me continue by spamming a mechanic rather than actually solving the puzzle in the “correct” or satisfying way. Further to the nearly spotty execution, there are a few sequences in Silt which rely on player reactions, and they just aren’t that great. There is wonderful tension built by the impeccable sound design and visuals, but it’s let down by asking just a little beyond what the controls can actually accommodate. Sadly, when you’re just swimming about underwater you don’t exactly have a brilliant turning circle, and that can get you eaten by some monstrosity.
I do love those monstrosities. Silt has potentially elicited the exactly wrong reaction I feel like it was going for — at the end of playing the game, as I sat and watched the beautiful art wash over me and my living room, I felt a sense of longing to hop in a diving suit and explore the vast depths of the ocean. It instils a bizarre sense of wanderlust, with every new screen offering something new to look at and wonder about. How they came to be, what they do. What exactly did all of it mean… I don’t really have an answer for that, and I suppose there isn’t truly an answer to what Silt is about in the broader strokes. I’m certain the contrast between naturalism and industry is definitely eyeing towards some kind of commentary about humans and our slow murder of the planet, but I feel as if Silt is firmly about the expression of these feelings.
It does what great surrealist art does — prods at questions, has answers if you’re willing to sit and think and wonder and dream about what you’ve seen. Frustrations aside, Silt is an absolute brainworm. I will think about these beautiful images and dreams long after I’ve written this review, and I suspect that anyone who fancies taking the dive will too.
Silt is available on PC, Playstation and Xbox.
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